Spotlight on Grommets

Sunday, May 21, 2017 10:16:43 PM Australia/Melbourne

If you’ve been regularly checking in to the Hearlink blog, you’re no stranger to our dedication to educating our visitors. If you’re newer to the site, welcome! An important part of the Hearlink ethos is ensuring that we arm our patients and valued customers with as much knowledge as we possibly can. This includes trends in the audiology industry, products that we recommend, and the storied science behind hearing loss. We know that when we equip you with the know-how to make the right decisions for your health, you can successfully be in the driver’s seat of these very important decisions. Regularly featured content on the Hearlink blog includes spotlights on specific hearing impediments—the symptoms and treatment plans that experts recommend, as well as different equipment buzzwords that should sound familiar to you. Today, we focus on both, diving into grommets and how they can help otitis media and glue ear.

So what are grommets? They’re tiny plastic tubes that help children who suffer from chronic ear infections. These ear infections are also called otitis media. The small plastic tubes go directly into the eardrum of the affected child. The eardrum is also referred to as the tympanic membrane. The ultimate goal is that grommets improve long term hearing and ensure that there are no complications in the short term.

If your hearing is fine and within normal ranges, then your ear cavity is filled with air. This is vital to ensure that your hearing is as good as it can be. Those that are affected with otitis media do not have ear cavities filled with air. Instead, their ear cavities (the middle specifically) fills up with either pus or fluid. This immediately impacts current hearing and long-term development. In more serious cases, the pus or fluid can push heavily on the eardrum, potentially causing it to rupture.

You’re probably thinking back to your childhood and remembering at least several hearing infections. They are much more common in our younger audiences, but it’s important to keep an eye, and an ear, on their frequency. Once or twice over multiple years is totally fine. It’s when children suffer from at least three in a six-month period, that they may be diagnosed with otitis media. Then your doctor or audiologist will recommend looking into grommets.

Another specific hearing infection is called glue ear, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The same fluid that is a sign of otitis media will become thicker over time, like the consistency of glue. Grommets can also be beneficial for children that suffer from glue ear.

So how do grommets help? They aid in draining any of the above mentioned fluids from the ears. As you might imagine, without the fluids, there is much less pressure on the eardrum, and the child is much more comfortable.

Hearlink is dedicated to helping the hearing of patients of all ages, but it starts with our youngest. If you have any questions about the symptoms mentioned here, feel free to give our team a shout!

Hearlink Admin

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At HEARLINK we are committed to helping people hear the beauty of sound again. Our hearing care experts use best practices and state-of-the-art equipment in the evaluation of hearing impairment. We are a dedicated team of Audiologists, technicians and receptionists in the provision of hearing care.